Store owner out on bail in stun-gun assault case

Dollar World on West Chester Pike in Upper Darby, where police say the store owner assualted a teenage customer with a stun gun. (Times Staff / ERIC HARTLINE)

UPPER DARBY — The owner of a local convenience store is free on bail after he allegedly used a stun gun on a 14-year-old customer.

Police arrested You Bin Yang, 42, owner of the Dollar World store on the 7400 block of West Chester Pike, after an incident Wednesday night that left the victim with puncture wounds to his arm.

“This guy’s 100 percent wrong,” said Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood. “I could see defending your store, but when you look at the video, you can see that he Tased this kid for no reason.”

A video of the incident that was released appears to show Yang pointing the stun gun at the teenage boy as he backed away.

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Nasir Edwards, one of the teenage boys involved, said he could not believe what happened.

“I’ve been going there since I was a little kid,” he said. “He knows I don’t do anything to him in the store, but he still pulled a gun on us.”

Police were called to the store Wednesday night for a report of a disturbance. Yang allegedly told the responding officers that two males entered the store and one grabbed a box of condoms. Yang followed the two teenagers, ages 14 and 15, as they walked around the store. He went back behind the counter and retrieved a stun gun, police said. He approached the 14-year-old who was near the counter as his friend stood nearby.

When Yang waved the stun gun in the 14-year-old’s face, the teenager put his arm out in a defensive motion and backed away. Yang allegedly hit him in the upper left arm with the stun gun, screaming for them to put the condoms back. Police later said the teenage boy had already put the box of condoms back on the shelf.

The boys left the store and Yang followed. They told police that as they were leaving, Yang pulled a shiny silver object from his back pocket and yelled, “Do you want me to shoot you?”

Diane Ross, mother of 15-year-old Nasir Edwards, said she sent her son and his friend to the store to pick up a box of pasta, something she has done numerous times over the years.

“We have been Upper Darby residents since 2000 and regular customers of the Dollar World store since then,” Ross said. “My son has gone to the store for me many times.”

Nasir’s 14-year-old friend wanted to buy a box of condoms, but didn’t have enough money for them. When Nasir said he couldn’t give him the money, his friend put them back on the shelf, but in the wrong place. They walked to the front of the store to pay for the pasta where they were confronted by Yang. Nasir said what followed happened quickly.

“I was stunned. It doesn’t make no sense,” he said.

According to the 15-year-old, the stun gun Yang used was odd-looking, about 2 feet long, and very powerful.

“Whatever Taser he was using, it was crazy,” Nasir said. “I was standing there near my friend and I could feel the vibrations.”

The boys say Yang threatened them with a silver gun as they fled. Neither teen had a cell phone, so they ran to a friend’s house and called police.

Police arrested Yang, and confiscated the stun gun, a 12-gauge shotgun and a 9 mm handgun for which Yang had a permit to carry concealed.

“Obviously, he was ready to defend his store,” Chitwood said. “It’s one thing to protect your property, another thing to aggressively assault this young man. Video shows that the kids that got Tased did absolutely nothing.”

Yang, of Bryn Mawr, was arraigned Thursday on charges of simple assault, terrorist threats, harassment, possession of instruments of crime and prohibited offensive weapons. He was released on $10,000 unsecured bail.

“It’s a scary situation,” Ross said. “He did point a gun at them. They were afraid and ran away.”